\u201cI\u2019ve been to the summit before and ever since, I have wanted to know more about what the astronomers are doing up here and what that research is because I have no idea,\u201d said Kona resident Aurora Allen on the way up to the summit a week ago. \u201cI want to know everything I can about space because there is just so much we don\u2019t know. It\u2019s such an exciting part of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Kama\u02bb\u0101ina Observatory Experience is a free 5-hour tour that includes breakfast, lunch, presentations and a telescope tour. It began in 2016 and was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but officially restarted in March 2025.<\/p>\n NOIRLab is a federally funded facility owned by the U.S. National Science Foundation and serving as the U.S. national center for ground-based, nighttime optical and infrared astronomy. The Association of Universities for Research and Astronomy operates it under a cooperative agreement.<\/p>\n \u201cThis tour is our way to foster a connection between the community and the work done at these world-class facilities on Maunakea,\u201d said telescope operator Callie Matulonis. \u201cEveryone on the tour is excited to learn more about how things work up here and what specific subjects in space we are all researching. And vice versa, we all want to know what residents are most curious about.\u201d<\/p>\n On June 6, the tour participants were greeted by the high altitude, cold air and members of the NOIRLab Communications, Education and Engagement team. People were split into two groups of 14, with each group visiting one telescope facility that switches each month. Telescope assignments are done at random. On this day, the facilities were the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and Gemini North Telescope.<\/p>\n While the observatories look similar from lower elevations, the facilities use different technology for their telescopes that often measure different parts of space. Astronomers, scientists and others from around the world work at the observatories, which are owned by several countries, including Canada, France and the United Kingdom. <\/p>\n \u201cWe collaborate more than we compete because all the observatories and telescopes on Maunakea specialize in different things,\u201d Matulonis said. \u201cWe all have a niche that we fill. While some are looking at the furthest objects in the sky such as black holes and quasars, some specialize in solar system science, such as monitoring asteroids, comets and our nearby planets.\u201d<\/p>\n (See below the list of Maunakea Observatories)<\/p>\n During the tour, half the participants saw the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility up close and personal, learning about the different instruments. The facility features a 3.2-meter telescope optimized for infrared observations, which measure wavelengths of infrared light ranges. <\/p>\n The NASA facility has the only telescope on the summit that includes technology for daytime viewing. The tour participants were able to see Jupiter through the lens of the telescope.<\/p>\n Once used to support the Voyager missions<\/a>, the instrumentation now is used to help track potential planetary threats like asteroids.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile other facilities find where an asteroid would land, we use our instrumentation to characterize whether it is metallic or not, or if it\u2019s a solid lump or a bunch of rocks,\u201d said Warren Skidmore, the deputy director of the NASA Infrared Telescope. \u201cAstronomers in Italy and California then discuss the potential consequences and feed all the information to emergency management agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n Along with potential planetary defense, the NASA facility also offers blocks of observing time to the entire astronomical community. While 50% of the observing time is reserved for studies of solar system objects, astronomers can operate the telescope remotely around the world by working with research support and telescope operator, Dave Griep, over Zoom.<\/p>\n Griep has been working at the telescope for 44 years and is the longest-standing operator on the summit of Maunakea.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have Dave here who has been working for over four decades along with one of our newest operators, Akinyele Gilbert, who just graduated from the University of Hawai\u02bbi at Hilo,\u201d Matulonis said. \u201cThere is an incredible collaboration of scientists working at NASA Infrared, but also at all the telescopes and observatories on Maunakea.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Maunakea Observatories<\/a>, Maunakea has become the most scientifically productive and impactful site in ground-based astronomy.<\/p>\n \u201cAstronomy is a global enterprise that most everyone has an interest in,\u201d Skidmore said. \u201cHowever, I can count on one hand the few places on Earth that are portals to the universe and this is one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n The future of astronomy on Maunakea is up in the air as the University of Hawai\u02bbi will hand over management of the mountain to the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority<\/a>, which is the state governing body for Maunakea, in 2028.<\/p>\n Protests over the telescopes at the summit of Maunakea have happened for years and the university has been criticized about its handling of the mauna through the years. The observatories had a history of chemical leaks and leaving trash on the summit and a 1998 state audit<\/a> faulted the University of Hawai\u02bbi for failing to hold the observatories accountable.\u00a0<\/p>\n Protests blew up again in\u00a02019<\/a>\u00a0with demonstrations in opposition to the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope, one of a new class of extremely large telescopes that allows astronomers to see deeper into space and observe cosmic objects with unprecedented sensitivity and detail.<\/p>\n Lawmakers created the authority in 2022 to help resolve issues over Mauna Kea that had been simmering for 60 years.<\/p>\n The University of Hawai\u02bbi currently leases more than 11,000 acres of Maunakea summits for $1 for astronomy. As a condition of the master lease, all observatories on Maunakea are legally bound to decommission their facilities and fully restore their sites to natural conditions by the end of 2033 if they cannot negotiate further land use.<\/p>\n However, Gov. Josh Green signed Act 053<\/a> into law, which allows the Authority to extend existing leases and subleases for up to 10 years before the master lease transfer in 2028. Extensions will not need approval of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and the Land Use Commission.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/260606-mktour-06-1024x698.jpg\")
<\/a>Participants with the Kama\u02bb\u0101ina Observatory Experience take photos of the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility during the tour on June 6, 2026. (Kelsey Wallling\/Big Island Now)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/260606-mktour-02-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/a>W.M. Keck Observatory I and II on the summit of Maunakea. (Kelsey Walling\/Big Island Now)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/260606-mktour-13-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/a>Participants look get a close view of the NASA Infrared Telescope on June 6, 2026. (Kelsey Walling\/Big Island Now)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/260606-mktour-14-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/a>Dave Griep connects to a Zoom call with an astronomer during the Kama\u02bb\u0101ina Observatory Experience at NASA Infrared Telescope Facility on June 6, 2026. (Kelsey Walling\/Big Island Now)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/260606-mktour-03-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/a>From left, the Canada-France-Hawai\u02bbi Telescope, Gemini North, University of Hawai\u2018i 2.2-Meter Telescope and the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope are located near each other on the summit of Maunakea. (Kelsey Walling\/Big Island Now)<\/p>\n